"Apponiment for allergy test with 23 month old..."

I attend a children's clinic at Airedale yesterday, 7.7.13, and was disappointed to say the least at the whole experience. I went along with my daughter-in-law and my 23 month old grandson and the appointment was for 3.50 pm. My daughter-in-law is 6 months pregnant, yesterday was a very hot, sticky day and my grandson was there to have an allergy test/follow-up. We arrived a few minuets before the appointment time to be faced with a waiting room full of hot parents and children and our hearts sank. Luckily we had with us refreshments for my grandson and I played with him to enable my daughter-in-law to rest as she is still working full time and had only finished work an hour beforehand. 1 hour later-yes you read it correctly- 1 hour later we were called into see the doctor who welcomed us into a room even warmer than the waiting area and she apologised for the delay. We were with the doctor no more than 10 minuets and then were asked to take my grandson for a blood test. Now whilst we were waiting for our appointment two children came through the waiting area extremely upset which was met with concern by all of the other children waiting and this needs addressing; children are going to be upset by some medical procedures and perhaps the rooms could be rearranged so these poor children who were very upset did not have to be paraded through the waiting area. When we entered the room with the nurse for blood to be taken, a new experience for my grandson, the nurse was pleasant but didn't really spend time putting my grandson at ease. I had to ask for his hand to be sprayed to prevent the needle from hurting, I had to ask for a large children's Elastoplast as the one initially put on his had was smallest one manufactured and would not stick, my daughter-in-law had to seek out toys to distract him and once the whole traumatic procedure was completed I suggested my grandson be given a sticker to try and make the experience a little happier. I'm not a fussy grandmother, both myself and my daughter-in-law are calm and have a lot experience with children, thank goodness, I am a retired teacher and she works in a health project with children. I suggest a number of improvements: 1. More time allocated per. appointment per. child. 2. On extremely hot days fans to be set up in waiting areas and doctors consulting rooms 3. Nurses to be reminded that many children are afraid of the unknown and perhaps a little more time spent gaining some trust would be less traumatic for the child. I hope you look at these comments in a positive way and hopefully my next visit with my grandson will be a little better than the last.

Responses

We are sorry to read of your experience and grateful for the very helpful and constructive suggestions you have made. For your information, the Matron for Children’s Services has agreed to review the environment within the children’s outpatient department, particularly with regard to play and waiting facilities and also the areas where treatments are undertaken. If you would like to discuss this further please contact our PALS team on 01535 294015.